Menu item shortcut keys should so be noted

General discussion related to "Everything".
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therube
Posts: 4955
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:48 pm

Menu item shortcut keys should so be noted

Post by therube »

Menu item shortcut keys should so be noted.


Like from within the 'File' menu item...

'E' is a shortcut for Export...
'S' is a shortcut for Create Shortcut ...

Likewise Alt+F+E brings up the Export... dialog.

If such shortcuts exist, they should be (visually) marked, Create Shortcut, kind of thing.


Note that these keys may or may not be different from a shortcut key definition defined in Options | General | Keyboard.


No big deal, but...
NotNull
Posts: 5458
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 9:22 pm

Re: Menu item shortcut keys should so be noted

Post by NotNull »

It can be made visible if you don't use Alt+F+E, but instead <Alt-F> + <E>
The only other way I know of, is using <F10> instead of <Alt>: <F10> + F + E

Don't know how to bypass these Windows default methods.

BTW: I checked the language file (template.txt). Here are the keys to be used defined, visible by the "&" in front of them.
void
Developer
Posts: 16683
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:31 pm

Re: Menu item shortcut keys should so be noted

Post by void »

If such shortcuts exist, they should be (visually) marked, Create Shortcut, kind of thing.
Windows Vista or later disables highlighting (underlining) the menu shortcut key by default.

To always highlight the menu shortcut key:
  • From the Start menu, click Control Panel.
  • Click Ease of Access Center.
  • Click Make the keyboard easier to use.
  • Check Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys.
To customize menu shortcut keys:
  • Download the Everything translation template.
  • Download makelng.zip.
  • Extract Template.zip and makelng.zip to an empty folder.
  • Open Template.txt
  • Change the menu strings to your desired string, using a & prefix for the menu shortcut key.
  • For example, to change the Export menu shortcut key to S and remove the "Create Shortcut" menu shortcut key:
    • Change the following lines:
      MENU_EXPORT = "&Export..."
      FILE_CREATE_SHORTCUT_MENU = "Create &Shortcut"
      to:
      MENU_EXPORT = "Export (&S)..."
      FILE_CREATE_SHORTCUT_MENU = "Create Shortcut"
  • Save changes and run makelng.exe
  • Copy the Generated Everything.lng to your Everything installation folder.
  • Restart Everything.
  • In Everything, from the Tools menu, click Options.
  • Click the General tab.
  • Select your template from the Language box.
  • Click OK.
It is common for translators to place the menu keyboard shortcuts in brackets after the command text, for example, in Chinese the Export menu item is:
导出(E)...
therube
Posts: 4955
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:48 pm

Re: Menu item shortcut keys should so be noted

Post by therube »

Seems what I wrote (above) & what I was doing were different.
And using different methods yields different results.

Alt+F (or F10)... does show the shortcut keys.

But (oddly, IMO) if you use the mouse & click File, the shortcuts do not display.
(In Everything, that is. In my browser, using the mouse does show the shortcuts.)


Image
NotNull
Posts: 5458
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 9:22 pm

Re: Menu item shortcut keys should so be noted

Post by NotNull »

therube wrote: But (oddly, IMO) if you use the mouse & click File, the shortcuts do not display.
(In Everything, that is. In my browser, using the mouse does show the shortcuts.)
That doesn't sound very efficient: showing keyboard shortcuts when using the mouse ... ;-)
void
Developer
Posts: 16683
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:31 pm

Re: Menu item shortcut keys should so be noted

Post by void »

Enable "Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys" as mentioned above to fix the issue.

It is possible to enable this just for Everything with WM_UPDATEUISTATE, I've added it to my TODO list.
therube
Posts: 4955
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:48 pm

Re: Menu item shortcut keys should so be noted

Post by therube »

On XP:

Right-click Destop
Properties
[Display Properties] Appearance {tab}
Effects... {button}

Uncheck, Hide underlined letters for keyboard navigation until I press the Alt key

:-)

Thanks.
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